


ghost city tokyo.

by irlsugawara



Series: strawberry-flavored heat. [1]
Category: Persona 5
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-19
Updated: 2020-04-19
Packaged: 2021-03-02 02:47:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,085
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23727799
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/irlsugawara/pseuds/irlsugawara
Summary: “welcome home,” the black-haired teen grinned, leaning against the counter as he offered the bowl of strawberries to the clearly tired detective. goro glanced at the fruit, then looked up at akira with a laugh, the joke suddenly clicking into place.“honey, i’m home…” he paused, resting his elbow on the counter and resting his cheek into the curve of his gloved palm, then sighed, as if letting out a large burden off his back. “although, i am tired. do you have my usual?” inquisitive eyes peered into akira’s soul, searching him through and through, ripping him apart, and it shook the teen up a bit, startled at how intensely the other was staring at him. he paused then nodded, turning to grab a cup and a bag of coffee, immediately getting to work.quite belatedly, he responded: “you’re back awfully late, akechi-kun.”the story of two boys crushing on each other under the harsh summer heat and over the sweetness of strawberries.
Relationships: Akechi Goro/Kurusu Akira
Series: strawberry-flavored heat. [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1709062
Kudos: 50





	ghost city tokyo.

**Author's Note:**

> inspired by the strawberries on my kitchen counter.
> 
> also, i haven't finished p5r yet but let's say it's a good middle with p5 and p5r. and i know the "honey, i'm home" lines happened in october but let's ignore that, okay? i wanted to add that in so badly- 
> 
> psa: unbeta'd. we die like men in this house. (also, yes, the title is influenced by the song! i highly recommend the cover though. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DtBoAqkIJzI)
> 
> okay, i edited this a bit because i noticed i used the wrong suffix so i changed it to "-kun". sorry!
> 
> please enjoy! leave a kudos or a comment if you liked it, it would make my day.

the sun shone brightly through the fluttering curtains in leblanc’s attic with a few _ding_ s from his wind chime, swaying with the slight breeze of summer singing in akira’s ears. he groaned quietly, turning into the mattress which was the furthest from cold now, and buried his face in his pillow, sighing in his half-sleep stupor. the wind chime shook a little more, swaying from one end to the other, the pendant paper and bell colliding, effectively waking him up completely. he sat up slowly, one hand raking through thick, unruly hair, eyes blinking open as a hand groped around for his rimmed glasses. it was at that moment that morgana hopped onto the makeshift bed, smiling (it seemed like he was smiling but akira couldn’t really tell - do cats smile? he would like to think so) at him and pawing at the blankets still draped over his legs. “time to wake up! you’ve been sleeping for so long… it’s noon already.” then he sat down, one paw coming up to his mouth, tiny tongue lapping at the fur there. “chief came up too but only sighed and then went back down with a shake of his head, but if you ask me, i think he had a bit of a smile on his face.” the cat, splotched with black and white, laughed, the sound a high-pitched trill. “you’re growing on him, akira. you’ve got that skill with everyone, y’know? it’s pretty interesting.”

still quite sleep-addled, the highschooler yawned in response, head tilted to the side with his ear resting on the slight curve of his shoulder, eyeing morgana quietly. “really? he smiled?” akira blinked a couple of times, rubbing at his eyes and then pushing the blankets away from his legs, swinging them over the edge of the bed and standing. the chimes sang again, curtains fluttering again because of the breeze; akira turned to gaze at it for a moment or two and proceeded to push his fringe back from his forehead, fanning his face with his hand. as agile as a cat is, morgana hopped off the bed and landed on all four feet, stretching his back, then rolling his sapphire-tinted eyes. 

“yeah. is that the only thing you paid attention to? gosh…” akira tuned out the rest of morgana’s mumbling about how he should pay attention more, wake up earlier, and how it would benefit the phantom thieves if he, at least, had a better sleeping schedule — which, in all honesty, akira knew that morgana wasn’t wrong. if he was sleep-deprived and went into a palace or mementos like that, it would cause problems for everyone. “hey. hey! are you listening? akira? hell _ooo_? jeez, this guy doesn’t even listen properly.” the black-haired teen muffled a laugh, shaking his head and squatting to run his lithe fingers through morgana’s soft fur, smiling when the cat let out an unguarded purr. 

standing up, he grabbed a couple of clothes and changed into something that would befit the weather - a tank top with a short-sleeved, unbuttoned shirt over it and some lightweight pants - and then picked up a small drawstring bag with an interesting green pattern, a gift from futaba, along with his bag. he allowed some time for morgana to hop into the emptiness of his bag, then straightened up, hands in his pockets as he headed down to the bathhouse, greeting sojiro and futaba on his way out. he swiftly ducked his head, hand immediately coming up to shade the side of his face and his eyes as he looked up into the baby blue sky, devoid of any clouds. “it’s so hot,” he murmured to himself, quickly making his way to the bathhouse across the coffee shop, hand on the handle and slowly pushing it open, the mix of humidity and the smell of bathwater suddenly enveloping him in its warm embrace. akira could feel the ends of his hair curl, slowly yet surely. snapping out of his slight daze, he slid his shoes off and pushed them into a cubby near the door, then settled his bag atop the lockers, making his way to the bathroom in the back of the bathhouse to wash up and brush his teeth properly, then fix his hair and clean his glasses. once done, he gave himself a quick lookover and nodded, quite pleased with his looks. 

even though he wasn’t in his joker mindset, akira still made sure he felt good about himself by doing this little routine every morning. on days where he didn’t feel like making his way to the bathhouse, he’d open his phone and look at himself in the front-facing camera screen and smile a little, feeling accomplished. maybe it was a bit narcissistic of him to do so but it wasn’t something he could help. being joker wasn’t the same as being kurusu akira and the thought often bummed him out - he didn’t have the same confidence and snark as joker has over in the metaverse. 

“maybe it’s the mask,” akira hummed thoughtfully, fingers running over where the mask usually rested on his face. after a few more minutes, he shifted his weight and headed back to where his bag (morgana, too) rested, grabbing a white towel to dab at his dripping-wet face, wiping the last of the droplets away from his chin and then dumping it into a laundry bag in the corner of the locker room. morgana peeked his head out the moment he walked back in, a big toothy grin on his face, despite the sleepiness still clinging to his eyes. akira couldn’t help but snort at the sight. “you’re really becoming more and more like a cat- sleeping all the time and all.” 

the feline only growled in response, much too sleepy to come up with a rebuttal of any sort, though akira could practically hear it in his head (“i am _not_ a cat!”), causing him to laugh a bit, the sound silent. the old man in the bathtub recognized him by the mop of black hair on his head and called out to him, waving with a smile that showed all the wrinkles in his face and accentuated them. akira bowed, smiling back at him. he remembered how yusuke, ryuji, and him joined him for a dip and he kept turning the heat up, remembered how there had been that so-called challenge and how he took upon that “challenge”. it was from that experience alone that caused the two to be acquainted. 

“join me, akira-kun,” he spoke, gently, a wrinkled hand waving the teen forth. said teen shook his head with a laugh, brows pinching together a bit. “ah, i see. next time then, okay?” 

with all his byes said, he slid on his sandals and gripped the patterned bag against his chest, pushing the door open with a wide swing and inhaling the smell of the japanese summer beating down against his back, cicadas chirping their song all around him. he stopped for a bit, reveling in the shade to admire the sight around him - yongen-jaya wasn’t much compared to the bustling streets of shibuya and kichijoji but akira had begun to see it as his home. it was small and everyone knew each other but that was what made it so nice. akira had only been in yongen for six months or so and mostly everyone knew his name. morgana rustled inside of his bag, yawning. 

“what are you thinking of, akira?” came the voice, a voice that he confided in and felt at ease listening to. 

he stayed silent for a beat or two, cicada’s chirping filling in the silence between them. on the fourth chirp, he spoke. “just… home. we should get back, right?” akira didn’t need to turn to see morgana; even without that, he could feel the feline smile beside him. “let’s go. i’ll feed you some fish if boss has any in the fridge.” 

“f-fish?! what type? akira, what type? is it salmon?! you’re the best, did you know that?!” 

  
  
  
  
  
  


strawberries glistened in the dim coffee shop lighting, freshly washed and plucked clean of their green stems. akira had just put on his apron, morgana twirling around his feet and then eventually taking a seat next to futaba on the chairs decorating the bar counter. he eyed the redness with a gleam in his eyes with an awed wow, futaba being an exact copy of morgana, leaning forward against the counter. “what are these for, akira?” the girl asked eagerly, picking one up and dropping it into her open mouth with a delighted hum. “are you and sojiro making something new for the summer menu?” 

“no, i just picked them up because it’s summer and fresh strawberries are good for the summer heat, right? plus, he wouldn’t want to add anything new to his menu — especially something with strawberries, i think.” he countered casually, pushing his glasses up his nose with a chuckle. “don’t eat all of them, futaba-chan.” the chuckle melted into a fond smile when she whined instead, pulling her hand back and then playing with morgana, who absolutely despised it. the sound of the door opening had all of them turning their heads, three pairs of eyes falling on a teen with soft brown hair and a briefcase in one gloved hand, posture slumped. futaba tensed, along with morgana who narrowed his eyes at the figure, while akira blinked once and smiled at the detective prince instead. futaba lingered around for a bit before taking a defensive morgana up the stairs quickly, her feet making a loud pit-pattering sound as they stomped up the stairs. goro’s wine-red eyes widened as he watched the scene then he turned to smile at akira, a bit tired around the edges. 

“welcome home,” the black-haired teen grinned, leaning against the counter as he offered the bowl of strawberries to the clearly tired detective. goro glanced at the fruit, then looked up at akira with a laugh, the joke suddenly clicking into place. 

“honey, i’m home…” he paused, resting his elbow on the counter and resting his cheek into the curve of his gloved palm, then sighed, as if letting out a large burden off his back. “although, i am tired. do you have my usual?” inquisitive eyes peered into akira’s soul, searching him through and through, ripping him apart, and it shook the teen up a bit, startled at how intensely the other was staring at him. he paused then nodded, turning to grab a cup and a bag of coffee, immediately getting to work. 

quite belatedly, he responded: “you’re back awfully late, akechi-kun.” it elicited a laugh out of the so-called prince, fingers picking up a strawberry and munching on it slowly, teeth taking small bites out of its red flesh. akira smiled, the sound ringing a few happy tunes in his heart, much like the wind chime in his room upstairs. “is everything alright? you do look pretty tired.” 

“ah, does it show on my complexion? that’s… quite bad.” and even when he had said it, taking the cup from akira’s hands with his fingertips brushing delicately over the other’s, he seemed to smile a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. as his time within joker’s suit, akira has prided himself in seeing directly through other people, and it was quite easy with goro. perhaps it was their bond. upon his silence, goro sighed, gloved fingertip tracing the rim of the cup slowly. “it’s just been interview after interview; sometimes it even tires me out, to be quite frank with you. before i knew it, my feet led me here, to leblanc. i had been hoping to see you this evening so, i’m pleased. don’t worry too much about me, kurusu-kun.” a beat of silence, the sip of coffee echoing in the otherwise quiet coffee shop. “don’t mind me either, if you’re busy with cleaning and such.” 

the teen blinked and looked around the store, several plates on one table near the front and a few unwashed mugs layered dangerously on the sink — indeed, nothing of the sort slips past the detective’s eyes. akira bit at his tongue lightly upon noticing something a lot later than goro. he smiled sheepishly at his friend, who only grinned in response, raising the cup with a bit of elegance to his mouth and taking a soft sip. quietly, he moved around to clean the tables up with an old towel that he stuffed in the front pocket of his apron, then drifted to the sink to wash all the dirty plates and mugs before shaking his hands out and drying them. he found himself making a cup of coffee for himself, silently. 

it was comfortable - between the two of them. 

“so, interviews? about the phantom thieves, i’m guessing.” akira picked a strawberry from the bowl, admiring it’s red gleam and then took a bite at the tip. the sigh he got in response was enough as an answer for him, yet he allowed the teen detective to speak, finishing his second strawberry and setting his almost-empty cup down on the coaster. 

he leaned back in the stool, back straightening as gloves tugged at one another, wine-red eyes focused on the cup and then flickering back up to gaze into akira’s storm-grey eyes. “yes. it’s not that the phantom thieves themselves are a bad topic to talk about but it’s one after another - and it’s about the negative turn it’s taken for myself, more often than not.” he laughed, although it was devoid of any humor in it. “it seems i’ve truly become the enemy of the public. quite interesting.” 

the silence between them after that must have been quite telling, akira feeling much too awkward to really think of a proper response - what could he even say to goro? _it’s okay, it’s not what they wanted for you_ or _i’m sorry that’s happening to you, you don’t deserve it_. either response would point to him being a phantom thief and he was sure goro would have found out from those responses. said male laughed again, a tinge of genuinity seeping back into the sound, then he clinked the cup to the coaster once again. “i’m sorry if it made you feel awkward, kurusu-kun,” he hummed now, head tilted to the side causing light chestnut-toned locks fall over his eyes. “i suppose it’s just easier to tell you these things. i’m still not sure why, perhaps it’s because we’re so similar, don’t you think?” 

akira raised his mug to take a long sip of his coffee, the burn pleasant down his throat and filling him with a familiar warmth, tingling from head to toe. he shook his head, hand coming up to wave slightly. “no, don’t worry. it didn’t make me awkward, i just…” he trailed off, storm chasing after the red in the distance. he picked up another strawberry, sliding it to where goro’s hand rested. the detective took it gladly, plucking the leaves off and eating it gingerly. “i feel like you don’t deserve all that. the negativity and all.” 

wine-red hues widened in slight surprise, lips parting quite slowly around the fruit, then he laughed again and akira could hear the genuinity in it once more. “i see... you took me by surprise there.” another bite; akira couldn’t take his eyes off the other’s red-stained lips, strawberry further slipping into his mouth with pearly whites chomping down gently. “well, mm… what makes you say that? you don’t know much about me and i _have_ been rather negative in regards to the phantom thieves. you’re a fan, aren’t you? shouldn’t you be upset too, kurusu-kun?” 

should he be? despite whatever goro said on national television about his group of thieves, it never really bothered him as much as it did with the rest of his friends. he was entitled to his own opinion, that much akira knew. he looked away from goro’s lips and then focused on the strawberry in his own lithe fingers, turning it around and rubbing a thumb over the curve of it. “i mean, i suppose i should be but it doesn’t bother me much. everyone has their own opinion. i respect that you can say all that about the phantom thieves on television despite knowing there are people who would hate you and all.” words carefully form in his mouth, bubbling out one by one. akira tore the stem off the fruit and put it in the bowl with the other ones, plopping the entire thing in his mouth, rubbing his thumb against his lower lip. goro was staring at him with that intense gaze again, like he could stare directly into his mind, tear it open and file through his thoughts. akira leaned back a bit, shifting enough to not make it look suspicious. 

it was then the teen detective loosened up, smile curving on his pale complexion; risking a glance, akira thought the genuine and loose smile suited goro’s otherwise tired expression. “i see…” he trailed off, chin resting in his palm with a gentle sigh, catching akira’s entire attention now. “you’re better than i am, then.” humorless laughter escapes his lips quietly, lips moving but only a few words reached akira’s ears. 

he didn’t push much for an answer since the expression that was worn on the other’s face was foreign to the black-haired teen, so he looked the other way, getting up to clear the counter of the cups. the water ran under his hands, filling up the silence in the shop. a few beats passed, then akira lifted his head, turning the faucet and drying his hands on his apron. “akechi-kun.” the boy in question’s head raised slowly, brows lifting in question. “you should take a few strawberries home before you go. futaba-chan’ll eat them all if you don’t.”

there was an ease in between those tense lines on the other’s visage, a relieved sort of smile seemingly tugging at the corners of his lips. the tension between them had simmered to a boil, almost evaporating into thin air, and akira was grateful for that. any more talk of the phantom thieves and he wasn’t sure what would’ve happened. despite that, goro shook his head, that pleasant-sounding laugh vibrating throughout his entire body. “i couldn’t possibly impose—” 

“take some.” the bowl was pushed into goro’s open palm, it causing his eyes to widen again, those same eyes flicking up to peer into akira’s own eyes, wine-red clashing against stormy-greys. he could tell goro was trying to find out his purpose, to see why he was giving him strawberries but it was nothing more than out of the goodness of his heart. maybe he didn’t want goro to leave so fast. “please? we’ve got a lot. or, if you don’t want to take any, then you can sit here and we can finish them or… something.” 

guarded reds rippled with something akin to relaxation, ease, and it had akira sitting in the stool next to goro once again, smiling at the clearly intrigued detective. “you want me to stay?” the question was simple, but it struck a chord in akira, made his heart thud slowly in his chest. there was something about goro’s tone: the way it thickened and sounded off, but it wasn’t anywhere near bad. it was soft, yet confused, like he wasn’t ever asked to stay a little longer like this. 

“yeah, sure. why not, right?” akira’s words tumbled out of his mouth faster than he could’ve caught them in his palm, an embarrassed flush rising on the apples of his cheeks. “if you’re busy, then that’s okay. detective prince akechi-kun has places to be, cases to solve, right?” he laughed then, winking at goro teasingly, though it fell short because of the way goro had been staring at him. openly, with his brows furrowed, as if he was trying to get a read on akira but he couldn’t figure it out at all. “um. hey, it’s okay if you don’t want to—” 

“no, i— i’m sorry. i’ve never been asked to stay for longer like this,” goro laughed again, and it sounded embarrassed to akira’s ears. yet, he still liked the sound of it. it settled deep inside of him that goro could only be laughing and akira would be content with just listening to that all day. there was something about the way he laughed, the sound, and lull of it that attracted the younger male. “i’d like to stay and finish these with you, kurusu-kun, if you’ll, um, have me.” 

in between the heat of the summer night and the smell of freshly washed strawberries, their mutual embarrassment rose like vapor, like steam coming off the back of their necks. “of course,” he mumbled quietly, handing another strawberry to goro, his palm briefly clasping over the other’s gloved one. quickly, goro had pulled his hand away, avoiding akira’s gaze. the black-haired teen could feel heat burn under his skin, a blushing red spreading across the nape of his neck. despite being with goro for this long, he still felt himself fall into an embarrassed, bumbling mess; perhaps it was the heat that made his head turn in circles, made his heart act up, and bring red up to his cheeks. 

he reached for another strawberry and had pushed it in between his lips, the red tainting his lips vividly after he had bitten down on the fruit; out of the corner of his eye, he could tell that goro was watching him, the intensity of those muddy wine-reds burning into the side of his face. akira turned his head so that his fringe fell over the rims of his glasses, gazing at the detective with a newfound interest, and a silly smile, despite the burn in his cheeks. “see something interesting, akechi-kun?” then he burst into a fit of laughter at goro’s surprised expression, turning his head away with a clear furrow of his brows, the strawberry forced between his lips. his laughter died down into a chuckle, reaching for the second-to-last fruit in the bowl and tipping his head back to take it all one bite, save for the stem. 

“hey,” akira called out in between bites of strawberries, the air conditioning keeping his skin cool and calm despite the burning he still feels. goro hummed in response, taking the last one. slowly, gathering the courage and forcing the blush down, he turned to look at the detective with a smile, genuine and warm. “thanks for staying back with me. i… really do enjoy your company. even though everyone’s against you, you still have me. and please, call me akira.”

goro watched him with a slow bite of his berry, and akira wanted nothing more than to just kiss the redness off his lips, but he refrained, wiping at the heat that stuck to his forehead with the back of his hand. his breath lodged itself in his throat, nervousness filling him up to the brim. it wasn’t anything special; it wasn’t like akira had told goro that he was _in love_ with him or anything so why did he feel so stuffy? the air conditioning was definitely working too. it was then akira noticed the beginnings of a baby pink bloom on the other’s cheeks, the gaze tearing away from akira’s flustered greys. 

he seemed speechless for a bit, swallowing the last of his berry (akira couldn’t help but watch the way his adam’s apple bobbed), and then rubbed at the back of his neck whilst akira fiddled with a few strands of his hair, awkward and embarrassed. “mm,” he cleared his throat, successfully grabbing the black-haired teen’s attention. “i should be thanking _you_ , should i not? the strawberries were nice and— your company as well. i still don’t understand you that well; when you could’ve asked anyone else, why me? it’s honestly beyond me. but… i am, well. i am grateful. i had fun with you today, akira-kun.” a pause, then a grin, and it was far from embarrassed. akira could see the playfulness returning, but his head was too clouded for him to process anything. he loved the way goro said his first name. elegance curling around the syllables, the way goro seemed to carry it quietly. it was a sign of their bond growing and akira’s slight crush expanding too much for his heart to handle.

“and you can call me goro, i suppose.” 


End file.
